The Ballad of Herác the Murderer
by HappyClownswearglasses
Summary: Herác, A bitterly under appreciated magician is forced out of his own town. After meeting his only living relative, his cousin, Angela, His true story begins.  Humor, Adventure, Magic, and a little romance because I'm a soppy git. Parrallel to book 1.
1. Chapter 1

It was an Icy wind which awoken a young magician, Herác. It was one single gust of icy wind which forced him to jump out of bed early in the morning. And it was that same gust which forced him over to a window.

"What is it with people in this house and not shutting damn windows?" Herác said to himself in a laugh, shuffling over to a window which lay slightly ajar. Herác was a young man, or only 19 years of age, His hair was a rusty shade of brown and was tied carelessly back in a ponytail. Wincing as he stepped in to the sunlight he took a few moment to look out of the window and survey the area, the street was already starting to get busy though it was still very early  
>"Good mornin' Herác" said a old man as he merrily bumbled down the street<br>"James?" Herác questioned at the old man "What are these people doing up so early?" he continued, eyeing up every passer-by as if they had two heads .  
>"well…they-"<br>"Spit it out man!" Herác interrupted rudely

"They're going to the festival" said James timidly looking down at his feet

"…what festival?"

"The festival in honour of The Grand Magician" James perked up "He's just came back from the battle of Éragard! He saved 50 men, and slayed the Spirit-Wisp all by himself!"

"What! Percy?" Said Herác mockingly "I went to school with him you know, He was a fool! He didn't even know his left from his right! Now just because he can throw the odd fire spell he's a hero, I can do fire spells, where is my parade!" at this point James went to retort but Herác quickly slammed the window and walked to his living room _I could so do what he does_ he thought as he lit the fire place with a quick flick of his fingers _He wouldn't even of passed magic 101 if he wasn't my friend, I taught him everything he knew...well some of it… _

Herác watched some of the people walking by his window solemnly, "Right! Well if this thing is going to happen I'm sure they'll need me!" he grabbed his robe, slung it round him and ushered himself out the doorway

Herác wandered leisurely through the streets, ducking and weaving past people, and attempting to avoid any un-necessary conversations. _How big could this thing really be? It's only Percy… _At that moment Herác began to hear the roaring of the crowds and the smell of fresh food crammed his nostrils. Herác frowned and looked around, then confidently approached a woman in the crowd  
>"Hay…How you doing?" He smiled and attempted to look cool<br>"what?"  
>"Oh, I'm Herác, I'm a magician" he said looking around with a grin on his face<p>

"So is my boyfriend" said the woman shuffling away. Herác sighed and walked towards the bustling crowds which lay ahead of him, as he left the alleys he entered a giant city centre, the streets were paved with white marble and pillars held the stage aloft. The crowds cheered and screamed as 'Percy' approached the stage's forefront, Percy was a very tall, very attractive and very muscular man, he wore a tight fitting white shirt with a red sash around it and a black collar, his golden locks were slightly wavy and rose from his row of medals on his chest, which he bore with immense pride.  
>"My friends! I have concurred the mighty Wisp who threatened our city, I saved 50 men, and yes…one of them was a baby-" Herác sighed and rolled his eyes<p>

_Why wouldn't it be,_ he thought, _it was probably a cripple as well._

"-but I couldn't do it without you great people in the city! You are my guiding light, my inspiration; you give me the energy I need to cast my vast spells, and you give me more happiness and respect a man could deserve!-" Ah he spoke Herác slinked through the crowds, his dark robe moving like a shadow, drawing no attention. Percy continued addressing the crowds but Herác had lost interest and was heading to the city gates, when he fell in to a crowd of surprisingly similar looking men, whom he starred at with great confusion, then spoke

"why are you dressed like me?" he said looking slightly complimented if not a little dazed, but before he got a reply two of the dark robed, hooded men sprang forth and began casting dark magic, and fire in to the crowds, Herác was about to scream when the city guards ran at them and began slashing at the magicians and wizards who surrounded him. Percy leapt the 20 feet from from the stage and towered over the gang.

"Get some!" he screamed blasting holes through one of the magicians and turning his attentions to the others in the group, creating shielded areas to contain them, then charging in with his sword drawn. Inside the dome of energy the battle raged, With Herác womanly screaming and floundering around. The crowds watched in awe and cheered when any of the hooded men fell. "Herác!" screamed Percy finishing off the last of the other magicians with ease "You're going to kill me are you!" Percy exclaimed angrily and began charging at him.

"N…no no no no!" stuttered the scared Herác, In a fit he spoke the first spell that came to his mind "raméráz!" he said coiling in fear.

Then silence fell. The crowds died down to a ghostly still, and the screaming blood lust that once filled Percy eyes were replaced by emptiness. A loud smash echoed as Percy fell to the floor.

A small voice of a child chirped up as the dome fell, and Herác stood surrounded by leagues of dead bodies "you killed him!" the child said in shock. Herác looked at the crowds, fidgeting with his robe.

"I didn't mean too" he said softly. The crowds began to move in unison at Herác.

"KILL HIM" screamed multiple voices from all over the crowd. The roaring flooded back, and this time it was aimed at Herác, who without missing a beat, began to run for the city gates, past guards and in to the country side.

"IT WAS A MISTAKE!" he screamed as he ran, the mobs only replying with an incomprehensible chant of pain and fury. _I just need to get to the city gates_, he drastically kept telling himself, attempting to convince himself that if he got to the city gates, everything would be okay. he continued running till he saw the gates in the distance, past houses and leaping over a dog he made his final push for the gate-which the guards were pushing shut. _No, no,no! _he screamed in his head as he crashed past a guard, and squeezed through the rapidly closing gate, which slammed shit behind him. "Oh god, oh god"he repeated a few times as he stopped to catch his breath.

He turned to the giant wooden doors which stood ridged behind him.

_I'm in some serious trouble._


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Comments: I just wanted to keep this short, I kind of want it to be a nice short block that you don't need to separate out a good part of an hour to bust though, and hopefully some people will find it slightly funny the same time. Characters will pop up here and there but I hope it's tasteful. And my characterisations Is okay… Please Enjoy, More when I feel like it :D**

"It's beautiful isn't it?"  
>Herác had been walking for days, and had found himself on track for one of the only cities he knew apart from Dauth. Teirm.<br>"I said it's beautiful is it not?" Herác was standing over the edge of a mountainous range in which Teirm could have been seen in the distance, had it not been slightly foggy, when a large man with two horses came and stood next to him, smiling proudly.  
>"It is." Herác replied, looking across to the man and scanning him with his eyes.<p>

"Aye" the large man spoke "I remember my first time traveling to Teirm…I was only a boy but I still clearly remember it all" He turned and looked at Herác then pointed in to the distance "the ships, you see? Yeah... the ships, those things fascinated me as a child. I always wanted to be an adventurer… I achieved my goal eventually…" he looked at Herác who was staring at the man in fascination "I'm sorry. Story teller by trade, sometimes I forget myself" he chuckled lightly.  
>"no, no it's fine, I haven't spoken to anyone in days…It's good to finally hear a voice which isn't my own." Herác's lips went to continue talking, but he stopped himself and slumped hands first on to a slate wall which stood, blocking the edge of a cliff. The two stood in silence for a few moments.<br>"Brom" The man extended his arm and reached out his hand.  
>"Herác" reaching out to return the favour out and shake his hand, giving a faint smile.<br>"Nice talking to you Herác. May be I'll see you in Teirm." Brom turned and clutched the rains of his two horses who were casually mulling about on some near by grass. He climbed up and mounted one of the horses when suddenly, he stopped, looking Herác dead in the eyes. Time seemed to stop. Something was cold and calculated about that stare. Herác stared back but out of immense fear,  
><em>Please don't hurt me<em> He thought to himself, fearing for Brom's next move.  
>"…Herác?" the Brom said is complete confusion with a hint of anger, Smile gone. "<em>The one and only Herác<em> of Dauth?"

"…Yes?" Herác said smiling lightly and nervously laughing  
>"MY GOD BOY!" Brom said bursting in to laughter "Whoa If I'd have known it was you I would have taken you to those damn guards for the reward myself!" he said jokingly slapping his knee while still mounted on the horse. Herác continued to stare in fear. "Calm down boy" Brom laughed "You're safe talking to me, I have all the money I need, and I am no one to get a man imprisoned for an assault charge.<br>"Reward?" Herác said calmly  
>"oh yeah, that bloody great buffoon you froze has set a reward for your capture, Heard he convinced a judge that you attacked him, and tried to kill him" Brom said climbing off his horse and patting himself down. "Do you not know?"<br>"Well…I was there but…I thought I killed him" Herác said with a mixed breath of relief and disappointment – Herác had spent 3 days walking, and two of those nights he spent crying, thinking he had killed a once dear friend, and a single night where he had become proud of being able to kill Percy the invincible.  
>"Not as far as I had heard from people in other towns"<br>_Other towns? _Herác thought. _By the elder's glory I haven't even reached Teirm and my bounty is already talk of the entire bloody world… _

"Do you know my bounty?" Herác walked over to where brom was grooming a horse and began to pat the lone one on the head, who immediately turned and exposed only it's rear end to him. "hmm…"  
>"Yes…It's enough for me to say don't go blabbing your name, At least not in Teirm, people there are poor, so you can't blame them for the want of a few gold coins, even at your expense" he replied, speaking to Herác as if he were a student.<p>

"How much?"

"Fifty coins"  
>"FIFTY COINS!" Herác screamed bouncing up and down and placing his hands on his head "I don't earn that much in a year!"<br>"Look, Boy, if you want, you can have a lift in to Teirm with us, there is a spare horse anyway, and at least you know you will be safe" Brom said, waiting for a reply, but moving to his horse anyway. "You take him".

Herác clambered on to the horse with a puff and a wheeze, but his height gave him just enough room to scale the horse "Us?" Herác said riding alongside Brom, and clinging on like he was going at one hundred miles an hour.

"Yeah…I'm with a Friend, but he went off ahead yesterday, I'm meeting him there…Well, near there. It's only in walking distance"  
>"Oh, okay, Thank you by the way"<br>"Don't mention it, Now Let's Ride!" He sad whipping his rains and galloping away in to the distance.


	3. Chapter 3

**AC: Well, I Felt like writing once again, I'm not too sure if this is a great chapter, but there is a part that will become more vital later. Next chapter will be longer.**

A round about 4 hours had passed and Teirm was now incredibly close, the dirt road that Herác and Brom had been plodding down was now partially paved with stone, sign posts pointed the direction 'Teirm – 2 miles' and others could be seen nearby, on horse and foot, some riding quickly and ignoring Herác, others giving a warm nod as he rode past. It had been about 5 years since Herác had been to Teirm, That was when his mother had died and he went to stay with his aunt and uncle.  
>"It's a lot busier than I remember" Herác said to Brom, who seemed distracted<br>"Yes, Trade has picked up in the last few years; I hear it's dropping now though, so enjoy it while you can… Listen Boy, I need to go meet my friend, I will ride with you up to about a mile from the gates, but you will need to make the last stretch yourself."

"Oh, you've been more than generous Brom; I can stretch my legs as well" Herác said smiling, though still confused as to who this 'friend' was.

"Good" Brom said merrily "I'll be in the town by tonight, If you are around, There is a small tavern near the docks, Nice quiet place, I should be in there tonight unless something comes up, if you are in the area drop in…Do you have somewhere to stay?"  
>"Yes, my cousins shop, she wrote to me to say I could come stay before all this happened, I probably should of wrote, but…Well she put the invite out."<br>"Alright then I'll meet you in town at some point." Brom said gesturing for him to get of the horse, and taking the rains out of his hand, then riding off on a small path through a large wood "Happy trails!"

Herác turned to face the path, There was Teirm The large majestic gates where something to bring awe to a small town boy like himself, They stood 50 feet tall, and were carved at a master skill level, A large carving shown a knight sitting on the back of a dragon, brandishing his sword high as the dragon blew fire in the faces of enemies. Herác began to walk, and before he knew it he was stood face to face with the gate  
>"Oi" said a guard walking in front of Herác as he attempted to walk in to the city "Oi, You can't just walk in here!"<br>"What? Why?" Herác spat.

"What is the meaning of your visit? Business, Pleasure or accommodation" The guard said pulling up a small form and beginning to write.  
>"…Oh, Accommodation, I'm staying with my cousin till I find a place of my own"<p>

"Alright then…name?"  
>"Angela"<br>"Angela?" the guard said confused "okay then…Surname"  
>"I don't know" said Herác still distracted by the city walls "Wait, my name? Herác Soothlaid"<br>The guard sighed, tore up the form, pulled out another and handed him a pass "Right, this will get you in and out of the city, If you do not have it, it will be a 50 coin fine, do you understand?"  
>"yeah, yeah, yeah" Herác said snatching the pass and waking in to the city.<p>

It was more beautiful than he remembered, the streets were long, and busy, full of opportunity, the buildings were an amazing oak colour, and the smells were magnificent, fresh baked bread wafted over from one direction, while the salt from the sea another, people bustled around, shoving and pushing, others talking loudly and laughing obnoxiously. This was Herác's kind of place. As he walked the streets memories of playing with Angela came flooding back, Since she was slightly older, he always looked at her like a big sister, she would walk him to the market, buy him some chocolate then take him home, while stopping at the stables to let him see the horses. He never got any of that attention at home, His father was barely ever around after his mother died, then he just up and left.

Herác was about one street away from Angela's shop when someone caught his eye. It was a girl, about his age, with a bow strapped to her back, and tight leather armour on her body, She was tall, And amazingly beautiful. Long hear, which almost reached the bottom of her back, a slender, but curvy body, her skin was light, her lips were a pale red, and her eyes were fascinating, one Blue, one green. She was walking along with some other hunters, and as quickly as they has come, they were gone.

Herác continued starring at her as she walked away, Eyes fixed on her rear.  
>"Herác?" A voice said from besides him "Oh my It is you!" A hug came out of nowhere taking Herác by surprise, when he looked up, there he saw Angela, a young-ish, but very pretty woman stood over him, with a cat on her shoulder. "You didn't tell me you were in town this week! Where are you staying?"<br>Herác finished hugging her back then shyly looked around "well…I would of asked earlier, but I was…in a rush to leave town"  
>"oh…Well a heads up would have been great. Where are your bags?"<br>"it was a big rush"

"I see… Well come on then Brat, let's see if we can't sought you out with a nice comfy floor to sleep on"

**Hope any readers liked it. Feel free to tell me what I'm doing wrong, or right. And if you like, Give me a name for the huntress, as she will be in it later :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors comments: This is a Break up in the story, I was going to make this a really Heavy chapter but I decided to have a break for my own sake, I can't be bother with a heavy chapter, and I left some holes, so let's patch them up and go on with the story. It will get serious next time.**

Herác had been alone for a few days. A young boy had come in to the shop while Herác was out making a delivery, He only knew as he saw him leave. Since then Angela had remained very quiet. She had only spoken one thing to Herác himself

'I'm going away for a while. There are some very large things at stake, and I am needed elsewhere.'

'Why don't I come with you?' Herác had replied. Angela only met him with silence, she was a good friend to him, and he was not surprised to find out Angela was not his real cousin, but a family friend who needed a convincing story. He had always been suspicious of her Age, if she was 10 years older than he, then why where her eyes so old? Why had she seen so much more? He expected to find out this truth, but rather than a satisfied feeling from finding out the truth he wished for, he had only more questions about who she was and why she needed his family's help.

'Questions. Questions that will be answered when the time is ready and available'

When she left she kissed him on the forehead, held him close and then released him, she silently left with 'the cat', as Herác called him, following.

After a Few days of running the shop Herác was starting to get bored. He found amusement in attempting to read fortunes, something Angela had told him not to try and it 'takes someone with more experience' to do correctly. He figured the only way he would get experience was to try. Though he was trying to take it seriously, the power to see people's futures was quickly going to his head, He would laugh when he saw bad things happen, or joke about the style in which they would die.

Herác didn't have many friends.

A fair few days of the week Herác would shut up shop early so he could travel across town to the hunters and see the woman he saw in the streets a few weeks back. He had yet to build up the courage to speak to her, but had been able to get all the way up to her once without turning himself invisible with an illusion spell Angela had taught him. Though he had not spoken to her, he had managed to learn a fair bit about her including her age; 21 and her name 'Aeryn'.

Herác was determined that today would be the day that it all changed, He would Speak to her, And she would like it! Or at least that is what he told himself.

Herác shut up the shop, locked the door, and began walking across town to the hunters region, it was a fair old walk, around 45 minutes, and with Herác's lazy attention span, It could be dark before he got home, Hungry and cold.

It took Herác around an hour to get across town, as he had to stop of at Pasture Jim's house. Jim was a quiet little religious man who enjoyed sitting on a spikey pillow which shown he was a good man. _Religion is stupid_ Herác would always figure, but the deliveries of 'Holy water' accounted for around 20% of the shops takings, so he was not going to openly offend any of them.

When Herác arrived at the hunters district he quickly Spotted Aeryn, and perched himself up on a log that sat around 400 yards away, just past a few houses. Aeryn was always surrounded by men, _laughing and talking, but never kissin'…Do they even see her as a woman? I haven't seen her do one womanly thing in my entire time of watching. _She was Just Herác's type, She was a Woman. Herác wasn't much picky.

Aeryn was a Hunter, and from the animals she brought back each day, A damn fine one. She carried a bow on her back and a hooded cowl on her back, so he could blend in to the under growth. Herác had watched her hunt once, and Saw her take out a bore with one shot of an arrow from quarter of a mile away. Directly in to its lungs and heart.

Herác had been sat about for around 25 minutes when he stopped paying that much attention. As well as a place to ogle he found that the stump was a good place to think. Mainly about his home town. When his attention came back Aeryn was gone. So Herác decided to leave.

As he strolled home, he thought about his home town more and more, and his old empty house. _They wouldn't burn it down would they?...Nothing in it anyway_ He thought calmly.

As random thoughts fluttered his mind Herác suddenly started to feel watched, and just as the feeling felt too real to handle a blade touched his neck

"Who are you and why are you watching me" A voice said from behind him. "Tell me or I will slit your throat like a lamb's"

"Herác! Please don't kill me!" he said falling apart like a wet cake. _WHAT ARE YOU DOING! If you look like you don't care she will think you are sexy! _He thought without a doubt in his mind "Or do, Whatever I don't care"

Xxx

Herác awoke a few hours later with a nasty case of the 'cracked open skulls' Aeryn had knocked him out cold, and dragged him to her home where he lay in her bed. A less opportune situation than it sounded.

"Wake up" she said to him offering some bread to him. "May be now you will explain who you are and why the hell you are following me."


End file.
